In the field of optical communication, information can be encoded onto a light beam through use of an optical modulator in order to create an optical signal that is encoded with information that can be transferred from one device to another via an interconnection medium. As the opportunities to apply photonic solutions to more and more communications applications multiply the solutions that may be applicable for some environments, may not be applicable to all environments.
For example, in some air, space, water craft, and ground vehicle environments, among others, the size, weight, power consumption, and/or quality of the signal can be issues of importance that may not be important in other applications. For example, in many applications, a communications system for a military avionics application may have significantly different issues regarding these factors than a communications system between two buildings.
Optical communication systems use one or more optical carrier waves to provide signal transmission between two or more points. These transmissions are typically high-speed and/or wide bandwidth signal transmissions that allow the passage of more information than electrical communication systems.
An optical carrier wave can be transmitted either through the free space or in an optical waveguide channel such as an optical fiber and can, therefore be utilized in applications that electrical communication may not be able to be applied. In some embodiments, instead of an optical only system, the system can include the use of one or more other non-optical communication systems, such as wired networks, radio wireless networks, satellite communication systems, can be combined with optical systems to meet various communication needs and requirements. Such systems can include other communications types such as electrical, radio frequency (RF) and others.
An optical communication system may include a light source, such as a laser, to produce the optical carrier wave. In order to provide a communication signal onto the optical carrier wave an optical modulator can be utilized to modulate the optical carrier wave to carry the information. The optical modulator may modulate the phase or amplitude of the optical carrier wave, among other properties.
In such systems, an optical receiver, which may include a photodetector to convert the optical information into a desired electronic format for further processing, can be used to receive the information.